See a lot of speculation that by the time March hits, they will be an increase in the maximum number of fans allowed into stadiums.
But ultimately, will our support be depleted due to a series of factors, i.e older fans (huge chunk of our demographic) staying away, fans who have just lost interest due to 12 months of no rugby, fans having less money due to job loses etc.
I suppose every club is in the same boat.Could be that people have missed their rugby and will return in good numbers.
I suppose every club is in the same boat.Could be that people have missed their rugby and will return in good numbers.
Possibly but I believe some people will look at it and think we haven’t had that routine for a year now, we have found something else to do. I think young fans under 25 will mostly like swerve it.
If we make some good signings and get off to a strong start to the season, generating some interest then the fans will come. Inevitably we may be slightly down on season tickets for those that have been made redundant but all sports clubs will be in the same boat. Older fans may have received a vaccination by March so could be confident to return.
Not quite in the older fans bracket just yet but if I were in my 60's/ 70's and in pretty good health I would still go.No use hiding at home every day 'just in case'.What kind of life is that ? There's always been viruses knocking around.
I think a wider issue is how do Widnes and in essence all RL clubs attract younger fans. I am not privy to stats but I would wager that 50% of those who attend our games are over 50+ and that is a conservative number.
A few years ago, a Widnes away would be mainly attended by young fans, teenagers etc but since 2017, even the away matches has seen a sharp decline in young support.
Provided that people are satisfied that the risk of catching the virus has gone and the pandemic over, people will want to re-start their lives after 12 months of lock-down for a lot of people and little or no social life for most. This will include going to watch your local team.
It will need RL in general and clubs in particular to promote the return of the game. As has been mentioned, a few good signings and local promotions heralding the return of your team will bring back the fans and may also encourage others to turn up too.
I think a wider issue is how do Widnes and in essence all RL clubs attract younger fans. I am not privy to stats but I would wager that 50% of those who attend our games are over 50+ and that is a conservative number.
A few years ago, a Widnes away would be mainly attended by young fans, teenagers etc but since 2017, even the away matches has seen a sharp decline in young support.
Most younger fans want super league and will only come back as regular fans if we win promotion (which will be a long wait) or start winning games on a regular basis.
One of the injustices of the Rule regime is the complete disregard and apathy shown towards young fans in the north stand. Yes, it wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea but those lads wanted to cement a long standing feeling of what it meant to be a widnes supporter. An identity that I think our fan base needs. These young fans were passionate, enthusiastic and committed home and away, but most vanished by the end of 2017
Not quite in the older fans bracket just yet but if I were in my 60’s/ 70’s and in pretty good health I would still go.No use hiding at home every day ‘just in case’.What kind of life is that ? There’s always been viruses knocking around.
I think that you are right about ‘living life’ Sinbad, hoping to avoid stuff by staying indoors is no life but I think the problem (from the club’s perspective) is that going to the match isn’t an ingrained way of life for youngsters anymore. People will go out - and especially kids who are young enough to think they will live for ever - but the going out won’t be to watch Widnes.
To Dan’s comments - the fans will be there when they are allowed in but it’s just that sadly there aren’t as many fans of the club as there used to be.
It's old hat I know but a regular game day makes establishing a new habit easier. Sunday afternoon would bemy choice.
I think most of our fans will return, I think most of the fans, especially the older ones, will have had a vaccination by March, and will want to get out and watch a live match, instead of just sitting in front of the tv. I don’t think our attendances have dropped much since the end of 2017, amongst home fans, we seem to get a regular 3,500-4,000 going to home games. Hopefully we can employ someone good at promotion, and using social media, which the young people use more, and get more young fans attending
The one thing that Gelling did was relate to the youngsters, and it is important.
A smart winning team helps too!
There are a loads of oldies who must be as fed up as I am with four walls, just giv'em a chance to see a live game and they'll come.
It may also depend on the Club's pricing structures.
Maybe those who have lost their jobs can attend on a 'Concession' ticket. Maybe those who pledged their ST monies for 2020 will get a reduction (%), we just don't know until the Board show their hand.
I see Halifax are selling ST's to coincide with their 'Panther' rebranding. We've launched next years kits, we are playing in the Championship v 11 others, I think it's time to show that hand.
Paulie xx
I agree, pricing and affordability is key.
At the end of the day, Championship should mean Sunday 3 p.m. every other week. Sellable in that way.
I think we will start off when unrestricted crowds are in at a level of 3500+, but some bad performances and results will see that shrink: see last season as an example, we started with 3600 in shocking weather v Batley, then basically just under 3000 in the last league game v Haven.